Milestones and Turning Points

There comes a time in one's life when there are turning points.  Sometimes these turning points happen at the time of a milestone accomplishment in a person's life.   Milestones for me include but are not limited to:

• Riding a bicycle (achieved)
• Driving a car (achieved)
• First kiss (achieved)
• High School Graduation (achieved)
• Marriage (achieved)
• Childbirth (achieved)
• Child's graduation (he achieved)
• Child's marriage (he achieved)
• Grandchildren's births (they achieved)
• Loss of parents, aunts and uncles (most are passed)
• Retirement (in progress)
• Downsizing of possessions (in progress)
• Dying (we start the process at birth)

Tonight I watched the latest episode of NCIS on my computer.  The subject matter was about children being infected by an unknown disease.  Of course the cracker jack team solves the mystery.  The last three or so minutes of the program had a song that was written and performed by The Alternate Routes.  The song was inspired by and written for the Newtown Kindness project.  The name of the song is Nothing More.  It sounded like all the books of the Bible's teachings about human relationships rolled up into one song.  Buy the song on itunes and Newtown Kindness gets 50% of the proceeds.

I am not dead.  While I am getting closer to that part of the above list, hopefully there are some years left where I can be of value in the world.  I am alive because I was not a teacher nor a child at Sandy Hook nor at one of the other 27 schools where there were shootings in the last year.  I am alive cause the car on the icy overpass in 1984 was able to get straightened up just a few feet before hitting us.  I am alive cause no one has ever tried to stab me.

The turning point is that I can no longer just express my unwanted opinions about gun and other violence to unlucky friends and family.  I can no longer turn a blind eye to the needs for mental health care.  I must step up and put my commitment into kindness.  Here is a short video about the Newtown Kindness project.
I pray it will be a turning point for many other people.



If that one did not get you to thinking maybe this one will.  This group focuses more on demanding gun sense.
Often gun advocates cite that automobiles kill more people than guns.  That is what the government statistics show.  2012 had auto deaths per 100,000 at 10.8 up from an all time low in 2011 of 10.3.  Gun violence has an average death rate of 32,000 which tracks with the 2011 numbers for automobile deaths.  Gun sense must include mental health.  In 2011 63% of deaths with guns were suicide.  Gun sense.  Kindness.  No one answer but certainly worthy of dialogue to determine where is the common ground, not a battle ground.